48 Comments - Phineas Gurley - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 11:14 am: I understand the preference for opt-in vs. opt-out, but it seems like over-lawyering. I’m pretty sure the state-mandated screening for hearing and vision is opt-out. And if a court tells you to switch permission methods, you can switch. Any possible damages from a parent complaint (presumably that their kid had a nasal swab after the parent missed the opt-out communication), pale in comparirson to the disruption we’re seeing now. - Dankakee - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 11:16 am: Going on Meet the Press did her no favors. Teachers are apparently locked out of Google Classroom, they can’t even remote in if they wanted to. Not sure you can call this a strike when the teachers are locked out. - Mischievous - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 11:19 am: Lightfoot calls a reasonable testing proposal “morally repugnant.” Sharkey calls her “relentlessly stupid.” Hyperbole and personal insults…just a great way to settle a dispute. This is mutually assured destruction. They mayor is advertising her complete inability to solve problems and CTU is driving families out of the school system. A pox on both their houses. - A Guy - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 11:20 am: We spend $27K/per student as reported in all Chicago Media Sources. Yet for all intents and purposes; Chicago does not have a public school system, just a Chicago Teacher system. It’s so sad and young families don’t truly have a choice to live in our once great city. It’s only great for an oligarchy of greedy people who won’t answer the bell now. - cermak_rd - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 11:29 am: I’m pretty sure that communique from CDC was about Delta and not Omicron. Omicron is a lot more contagious. Cloth and surgical masks are not going to work as well to stop transmission. The CTU seems to have a lot of reasonable sounding (if expensive but $80 mil would cover a lot) suggestions. Don’t forget there are a lot of students in CPS with special needs. Kids with spina bifida, asthma, MS etc. Conditions that exposure to even a mild case of COVID could kill. And advice to put only those kids in remote is going to run squarely into least restrictive environment and FAPE issues. Others students are living with grandparents or medically frail parents. No child wants to be the one that bumped off mom or grandma. It’s true that children will likely socialize in person in their neighborhoods but those children are likelier to be from the same neighborhood, where you have a geographically defined bubble. Very different from collector schools where you have kids from a lot of neighborhoods in one school. - Ok - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 11:34 am: CTU originally proposed that they go remote until January 18. Now, after lots and lots of meetings, they begrudgingly offered to go remote until January 18. - Anon221 - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 11:34 am: Report from IDPH based on contact tracing. Schools were the vast majority reported for potential exposure. Data looks like it is lacking or limited for Region 11. “The data on this page represent information collected through contract tracing. Location information is gathered by asking cases to recall locations visited in the 14 days preceding symptom onset or specimen collection if symptoms are not present. The location name and type of location are entered into a centralized database called Salesforce®. For example, if a case visited a restaurant, the name of the restaurant and its address would be entered under the Location Type ‘Restaurants/Bars.’ An individual case may have more than one location attributed to them because that individual visited several locations in the 14-day exposure period.” https://dph.illinois.gov/covid19/data/contact-tracing/potential-exposure-location.html?regionID=0 - Ok - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 11:38 am: Lightfoot is dying on the wrong hill with regard to testing. That’s still the only way to make everyone feel safe. CTU thinking they will eventually get paid for these days is highly wishful. CTU members are sick of their leadership’s overtly political battles. Parents and community members are sick of these false hard lines and political punishing from the Mayor. There are no winners here. Find a middle ground where each feel like they aren’t losing. - Rich Miller - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 11:40 am: Ok, try to stick to what you believe instead of guessing at poll results. - Pot calling kettle - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 11:40 am: Behavioral science research consistently shows that people go with the default. In this case, if CPS wants a higher level of participation, they need to switch to opt-out. (Who decided on opt-in? It is pretty much designed to fail.) - ZC - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 11:45 am: Actually on high school graduation rates, enrollment in two or four year colleges, NAEP reading and math scores, Chicago Public Schools have been on an upward swing for years. I’m very happy with the quality of my Chicago public school. I’m not thrilled with this prolonged shutdown, but I want to see teacher retention rates over the next three-five years, too. The saving grace may be that a lot of our good CPS teachers - and there are many, many of them - are going to hang around, because they feel like they’re part of an organization that has their back, whereas I’m worried that this 1-2 punch of COVID plus legislators beginning to micro-manage their curricula elsewhere, is going to lead to an outflux of talented teachers in many other regions. Guess we’ll see. - Demoralized - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 11:45 am: ==I want him to get involved and do what other governors have done traditionally over years and decades. They take control== The Governor has been doing that for the last 2 years with regard to COVID and the Republicans have done nothing but gripe and moan about it. But now they want him to directly insert himself into this fight by doing the negotiating? What authority does he have to do that? He can’t order the teachers back into school. - Steve - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 11:45 am: -CTU thinking they will eventually get paid for these days is highly wishful- Whether you like CTU or not: I wouldn’t bet against them. You can’t have schools without teachers. - Leigh John-Ella - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 11:50 am: =I want him to get involved and do what other governors have done traditionally over years and decades. They take control== I watched George Ryan step into a racially charged, zero-tolerance school expulsion situation in Decatur years ago, only to give up, cut his losses and get outta there because the two sides were so entrenched. - Rich Miller - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 11:54 am: ===I watched George Ryan step into=== Before my time, but Jim Thompson settled a CTU strike after Harold Washington left town on “vacation” - Joe Bidenopolous - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 11:55 am: It’s admittedly anecdote and not data, but all of the teachers we know - with one notable exception - are not happy with CTU and voted against the action. They didn’t like the ‘choice’ they were given in the vote, they don’t like the timing, and they hate being vilified for not being in the classroom because they want to be there. Two of them are still going in. And to a person, these are all very liberal people who have taken serious precautions due to COVID. Again, anecdote only But, as a CPS parent (for the time being), I have to say we’re all getting exhausted by all of this. They - the mayor and CTU - are failing our children. We’re at a breaking point with all of the disruption - remember, for us it started pre-pandemic with a weeks-long strike in 2019. At least in this household, we’re seriously considering moving our kids to private school, and we understand we’re lucky to have that option. Not all parents do. - Ryan Paces Uber driver - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 11:57 am: This Chicago issue is now a national issue, and neither side wants to give an inch. I would like Governor Pritzker to get more involved, and bring both sides in before it’s unrepairable. - Mason born - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 12:01 pm: Something I’m curious about is what effect this will have on public/voter perception of CTU/Teachers unions? The Teachers unions in general have always seemed to convince people that they care about the kids and their ask is to help the kids and coincidentally help their members. However this and additional actions seems a lot more focused on Members than kids. Don’t get me wrong their an employee union that’s where they should be focused, however that public perception really helps. I wonder if that perception changing will have long term effects, like teacher union endorsements being less effective, etc. I don’t know and I’m a long way from Chicago, here the issue is more schools managing juggling substitutes. - Teachers' pay - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 12:01 pm: Like it or not these days will have to be made up at the end of the school year. So, yes the teachers won’t be paid now but will make it up at the end of the year. Btw-if they hold out one more week then on January 18th they will be back at work. All this posturing on both sides will be for naught. Adults should have been able to compromise and get the kids back in school. LA schools are a great example of collaboration. After a one week pause to test teachers/students/staff, the second largest school district has its teachers reporting today and the students start tomorrow. No remote learning and most likely a week tacked on to the end of the year. - Amalia - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 12:07 pm: it’s not just about the virus issues and the schools, Chicago can/may get a new mayor by the will of the people. but the schools leadership will continue. and so it goes. - Bored Chairman - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 12:30 pm: ==I guess this means he’s lost faith in Mayor Lightfoot.== Er, no. It means Durkin wants the Governor to wade into a politically perilous situation that would likely alienate people no matter the outcome. But seriously, the Governor was quoted in the Daily Herald today as having a hands off policy on the turmoil at the Tollway. And that’s his agency. Would he really get involved in a spat between Chicago parents and teachers? - dbk - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 12:30 pm: The omicron variant is highly transmissible among school-age children (esp. younger ones), so yep, that CDC data referred to delta, not omicron. Currently, school systems that returned to in-person classes are having great difficulty with staffing - absence rates in some on the first day back were as high as 10%, with no substitutes available. Until omicron peaks, we’ll have to anticipate that a lot of (as in, “many”)hours will be lost to teacher absences (not to mention bus drivers, support staff). While I am generally opposed to governors becoming involved in school district disputes, it is clear that the relationship between Mayor LL and the CTU leadership is hostile. The Mayor is not of a conciliatory nature, she’s confrontational; I think JB - more compromise-inclined, generally more tolerant of disagreement - may be necessary. Re: LA, we’ll have to watch the numbers over the next couple weeks following opening to see how successful the reopening really is. Testing has to be opt-out only and rigorously enforced; masks must be required, and good ventilation is key. The latter is easier in LA than in mid-January in Chicago, of course. - New Day - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 12:44 pm: “The Mayor is not of a conciliatory nature, she’s confrontational; I think JB - more compromise-inclined, generally more tolerant of disagreement - may be necessary.” Zero question that JB is better at negotiating and would have had this resolved by now if it was up to him. But here’s the thing. It’s not. As those recently released texts make clear, LL is never more paranoid and hostile than when dealing with the gov. Can you imagine her reaction if he tried to solve step in and resolve this? Hell, he solved the testing dilemma for her and her response was petulant. I just don’t see a path for the gov to solve this. Like it or not, it’s all on LL and CTU. - Suburban Mom - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 12:52 pm: Another parent told me that Park Ridge 64 had 18% of staff out on Friday, according to a superintendent e-mail. Honestly planning for my (fully vaxxed) kids to be remote and/or sick with Covid within the next two weeks. I honestly don’t see how it’s possible to keep schools open with employee absences approaching 20%. - Repeat Failure - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 12:54 pm: How about finally abolishing public worker unions? They have their political reps to air their grievances. And if they don’t like their jobs they can be a teacher somewhere else. - Sue - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 12:57 pm: If JB were the leader he claims to be he would force CPS and CTU to join him in discussing a solution and insist they stay until a deal was reached - Rich Miller - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 1:00 pm: ===How about finally abolishing public worker unions?=== Bruce, is that you? - Oswego Willy - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 1:01 pm: ===How about finally abolishing public worker unions?=== That you, Bruce, repeating your failed calls? To the post, There are no winners. CTU, the Mayor, CPS, the parents and the students are the biggest losers. The only note I have is the dishonesty of Lightfoot and the real idea of her alternative facts to what the state has tried to do to help, timetables, even describing negotiations and CTU differently to different outlets. It’s difficult to find trust in one that goes at the process dishonestly… even as CTU continues to push in ways that are not pure of heart to process. No winners. None. - thechampaignlife - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 1:13 pm: ===Testing has to be opt-out only=== Why even have an opt-out? What possible rational argument could be made against drooling in a tube? - ArchPundit - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 1:22 pm: ===They… can’t do it before or wait an hour after? It’s quite clear that CPS has no ability to plan. I’m not sure if it’s due to the lack of skills or just throwing out excuses for not doing obvious things. Probably both. No one at CPS planned for a return to school without taking into account the impact of a new variant that is far more transmissible even though they have had since before Thanksgiving to plan for contingencies. They don’t appear to have any idea of how many teachers would be out due to having or being exposed to Covid-19. The ‘plan’ was just let people show up and see what happens. That’s not a plan. The Mayor expects things to work because she says so, but doesn’t communicate clearly and has no concern with actual governing. - zatoichi - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 1:47 pm: No food drink for one hour. So if a student has breakfast at 8:30-9:00, then by 10:30 they are good to go? Yeah I see how tough that is to plan around. - JS Mill - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 1:56 pm: =[CPS] said it didn’t choose the saliva tests in part because many of its students eat breakfast and lunch at schools, and the SHIELD system requires students not to eat or drink for at least an hour before giving a sample.= So, push breakfast back 10 minutes? Also, Lightfoot kept the schools closed today. I would enjoy blaming CTU for today as well because I think they are just awful, but until today it was 50-50. Now it is 75-25- mostly on Lightfoot. I think Pritzker could be more successful than lightfoot, but unlike past governors he has a pandemic to deal with. - Zero - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 1:58 pm: Lets be frank here, jesse owns lori, end of story. - ArchPundit - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 2:03 pm: ===Yeah I see how tough that is to plan around. Or, have the students line up before breakfast, spit, go to the breakfast line. - Da big bad wolf - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 2:17 pm: “ How about finally abolishing public worker unions?” You’d first have to abolish the Bill of Rights. - PublicServant - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 2:32 pm: Opt-out, to me, is a loser for Lightfoot. She needs to give on that. She needs to dump Color in favor of Shield too. Stop quoting old Covid stats with Omicron. It’s, unfortunately, a new ballgame now. - A - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 2:49 pm: I would buy that kids don’t spread COVID and generally don’t get it except that if you look at various districts that post tallies of positive cases in schools, there are plenty of COVID positive students. While it’s a wonderful thing that kids get sniffles, or the equivalent of a cold, passing on to an adult could mean hospitalization or death, not to mention adults carrying it home to perhaps immune compromised family members. Why is this ok with people? - TinyDancer(FKASue) - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 2:58 pm: = This suit was filed by the Liberty Justice Center…= Liberty Justice Center….love these righteous-sounding names. They’re the union-busting JANUS guys. - Oswego Willy - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 3:03 pm: Keep in mind with the messaging of the Liberty Justice Center… According to their own website… Diana Rickert landed there… after Rauner and the weeks of unsuccessful messaging she and others produced. It’s a good context to grasp what circle of folks see this fight as worth it, and how when you see these same folks with the same “angsts”… is it also the idea to go after unions, just in this playing field? - TinyDancer(FKASue) - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 3:24 pm: And love how the Illinois Policy Institute has recently morphed into the “Non-Partisan Illinois Policy.” The lady doth protest too much, methinks. - Seymourkid - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 3:32 pm: So many of the parents that are throwing a fit because the schools are not open for in person instruction are contributing to the problem by not vaccinating/testing their children. This makes it seem that they are more interested in “day care” than education. - Thomas Paine - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 4:18 pm: Past disputes with CPS and CTU have only ever been settled by getting Mayor Lightfoot out of the negotiations. If the negotiations team can’t get them close, the board chair needs to put pressure on the CEO. The problem right now is that Lightfoot does not want an agreement, she wants a Victory, and she she seems anything that involves concessions to CTU as a defeat. She is toxic. This is not a court case, the goal here is not to outfox or our bully the other side into a favorable settlement. Bringing JB will not help, He has no power over the CPS board, although maybe someone should file a bill to do that. If Lightfoot says that money is the problem, JB should call Griffin and ask him to go 50/50. - Morty - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 4:20 pm: Interesting how all the plaintiffs except one are CPD or spouses of cops. With multiple use of force compliants and settlements - Joseph Lochner - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 4:53 pm: People have a right of free association and economic liberty. There’s nothing wrong with unions. What is wrong is a lack of consequences and choice. Unions should be subject to the same anti-monopoly and collusion restrictions as businesses in an ordered market. Just as with businesses, unions work best in conjunction with robust competition, and they work worst when they can effectively take public hostages. In the case of public schools, funding should be easily portable and tied to children, not particular schools or districts. That would enable a feedback loop. Incompetent unions and/or schools would face consequences. - Common Sense 171 - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 5:12 pm: Are teachers being paid? Is the mayor making it clear they won’t be? Does she have the option to fire those that don’t show up to work? - MisterJayEm - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 5:21 pm: “It’s quite clear that CPS has no ability to plan.” And very little interest. – MrJM - JS Mill - Monday, Jan 10, 22 @ 6:17 pm: = funding should be easily portable and tied to children, not particular schools or districts. That would enable a feedback loop. Incompetent unions and/or schools would face consequences.= This old trope has never proven effective. NCLB was a colossal failure. It is also a scam to help the wealthy get a break on the cost of private/religious schools. 1997 called and wants its’ idea back. - TinyDancer(FKASue) - Tuesday, Jan 11, 22 @ 1:02 am: Thank you @JS Mill Couldn’t have said it better myself. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.